The ''viadera'' (, oc, viadeira ; also spelled ''viadeyra'' or ''viandela'') was a lyric

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

and

Occitan literature Occitan literature (referred to in older texts as Provençal literature) is a body of texts written in Occitan, mostly in the south of France. It was the first literature in a Romance language and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throug ...

invented by the

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

s. It was a dance song devised to lighten the burden of a long voyage or to enliven the trip. It was a popular as opposed to "high" form and only infrequently used by cultivated poets. According to the Catalan

Cançoneret de Ripoll The Cançoneret de Ripoll (, la, Carmina Riulpullensa), now manuscript 129 of Ripoll in the Arxiu de la Corona d'Aragó, is a short Catalan-Occitan chansonnier produced in the mid-fourteenth century but after 1346, when Peter IV of Aragon held a po ...

, it was ''la pus jusana spècies qui és en los cantàs'' (the most humble genre of song there is) and elsewhere it is called ''la més baixa espècie de cançons'' (the most base genre of song). One of the more famous ''viadeyras'' was composed by

Cerverí de Girona Cerverí de Girona (; fl. 1259 – 1285) was a Catalan troubadour born Guillem de Cervera in Girona. He was the most prolific troubadour, leaving behind some 114 lyric poems among other works, including an ''ensenhamen'' of proverbs for his s ...

. It begins ''No.l'' ("Don't take that false husband") and is preserved in the

Cançoner Gil The ''Cançoner Gil'' (, ) is an Occitan chansonnier produced in Catalonia in the middle of the 14th century. In the systematic nomenclature of Occitanists, it is typically named MS ''Sg'', but as ''Z'' in the reassignment of letter names by F ...

. The theme of the song is that of a warning to a girl, either ''Jana delgada'' (delicate Joanna) or ''Na Delgada'', a ''senhal'' (pet name) meaning "delicate lady". The line ''jana delgada'' (read either as ''Jana delgada'' or ''ja, Na Delgada'') is repeated after every two lines as a '' respos''. The song has much in common with

Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian languages, West Iberian Romance languag ...

cantigas de amigo ''Cantiga de amigo'' (, ) or ''cantiga d'amigo'' (Galician-Portuguese spelling), literally "friend song", is a genre of medieval lyric poetry, apparently rooted in a female-voiced song tradition native to the northwest quadrant of the Iberian Peni ...

''.

References

* Riquer, Martí de (1964). ''Història de la Literatura Catalana'', vol. 1. Barcelona: Edicions Ariel. {{Western medieval lyric forms Western medieval lyric forms Occitan literary genres Medieval dance Popular music